Deported student vanished without trace, say family

A Sri Lankan student has disappeared without a trace after he was deported for overstaying his visa from Australia. The Australian Immigration Department has refused to help find Randika Mallawaarachchi, who was deported almost two months ago.

 

Department officers put Mr Mallawaarachchi on a Sri Lankan-bound plane at Adelaide airport some time between February 15 and 19.

 

The Sri Lankan government says he never set foot on his home soil, Mr Mallawaarachchi’s lawyer, Chanaka Bandarage, said.

 

His elderly parents, who live in Sri Lanka, are distressed by his disappearance and Mr Bandarage said requests for information from the Immigration Department had fallen on deaf ears.

 

‘‘The department must have some responsibility for a person to reach their intended destination. They can’t just put them on a plane then wash their hands,’’ Mr Bandarage said.

 

Immigration officials said they have been following the 24-year-old’s wishes not to reveal details of his deportation.

 

A department spokesman said Mr Mallawaarachchi, who was studying mechanical engineering at Adelaide University, asked officers to tell his family only that he had been deported and not to reveal any other details.

 

The spokesman said the department could not even disclose the airline or the flight that Mr Mallawaarachchi boarded.

 

Mr Bandarage said there were no direct flights from Adelaideto Sri Lanka. He said Malaysian Airlines and Singapore Airlines ran flights with stopovers.

 

‘‘We don’t know what has happened to him. He hasn’t contacted his family, they [the Immigration Department] won’t even say which flight he was on.

 

‘‘At the Foreign Ministry in Colombohis parents have been crying daily wanting to know what has happened to this child. He is not a Tamil, this is not a refugee case.’’

 

Mr Bandarage said his client had almost finished his degree. He was detained on February 11 after department officials learnt he had overstayed his visa by two months.

 

He left all his belongings at the Adelaideshare house in which he was living and Mr Bandarage believed he was travelling without any money.

 

A spokesman said the Immigration Department had fulfilled all its responsibilities. ‘‘DIAC [Department of Immigration and Citizenship] does not have a role in missing persons matters,’’ he said.

 

‘‘DIAC exercised appropriate duty of care in his departure arrangements fromAustralia. If he were to contact DIAC, we would continue to encourage him to contact his family. However, it is up to the individual whether he chooses to do so.’’

 

Mr Bandarage said he could not contact international law enforcement agencies before knowing where Mr Mallawaarachchi was.

^theage